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B−History
History · Red River

Red River’s post office opened in 1870, and 30% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 49% of U.S. towns. What drives it

1870first post office
0on the National Register
30%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Mimich · Public domain
Quick answers

How Red River began

When was Red River founded?

1870

The Red River post office opened in 1870, the earliest record of the town by name. Three smaller post offices, Thiry-Daems (1875), Tonet (1887) and Duvall (1890), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 1,374156 years

How historic is Red River?

B−

More historic than 49% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Red River post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade

What drives Red River’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Red River is more historic than 49% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Red River’s overall grade.
Founding era1870, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194030.0% of homes (±7.8) · typical WI town 12.1% · U.S. 8.4%ANational RegisterNo listings counted · typical WI town 3.0 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 49%
NewerOlder

Wisconsin towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Wisconsin town has 3.0 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Red River’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (28% of Wisconsin towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to B. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±7.8 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.

Founding year: the first post office (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

What stands out about Red River’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Red River are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages3 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Red River, and 5 old place names are still on the map.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Red River’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Red River’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Red River had its own post office from 1870 to 1887. Three other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Red River
1870–1887
Thiry-Daems
1875–1904
Tonet
1887–1904
Duvall
1890–1904
18701950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Bay ViewDuvallDyckesvilleThiry DaemsTonet
Gone or out of use
High View SchoolschoolMartinville SchoolschoolMcKinley SchoolschoolSan Sauveur SchoolschoolWashington Schoolschool
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Red River
Saint Louis CatholicSaint MarysSaint Odiles

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

The story so far

Red River, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Red River yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Red River is a town in Kewaunee County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 1,374 at the 2020 census, down from 1,393 at the 2010 census. The unincorporated communities of Bay View, Duvall, Frog Station, Thiry Daems, and Tonet are located in the town. The census-designated place of Dyckesville is also located partially in the town.

Its first post office opened in 1870. Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 1,393 in 2010, 1,374 in 2020.

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Red River, 1870 to 1904

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1870Post officeThe Red River post office opens
  3. 1875Post officeThe Thiry-Daems post office opens
  4. 1887Post officeThe Red River post office closes
  5. 1887Post officeThe Tonet post office opens
  6. 20th century
  7. 1904Post officeThe Thiry-Daems post office closes
  8. 1904Post officeThe Tonet post office closes
By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
Add from your album
Famous people

Famous people close to Red River

Nobody well known was born in Red River itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Zack SnyderAmerican filmmaker · b. 1966
Tony ShalhoubAmerican actor · b. 1953
Kevin MacLeodAmerican composer and music producer · b. 1972
Jay DeMeritAmerican soccer player · b. 1979
Mona SimpsonAmerican novelist · b. 1957
D
David Lee McInnisAmerican actor · b. 1973
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Union2 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townLincolnIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townGreen Bay2 historic placesALuxemburgIts storyB−DyckesvilleIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Red River’s history

What year was Red River founded?

The Red River post office opened in 1870, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Red River rank for history?

Red River is more historic than 49% of U.S. towns. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

How old are the homes in Red River?

30% of Red River’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.8 points), against a typical 12% for a Wisconsin town; the median home was built in 1971.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

From the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.